Annapolis Capital

A lot of successful musicians have to battle crowds, but few have to duck into bunkers to avoid incoming mortar fire.

That’s what happened to Niki Barr last year when she and her rock band stopped in Afghanistan on a tour of military bases. “They put us all in Kevlar and helmets, and we were taken to a bunker,” Ms. Barr said last week. “That was a little creepy.”

At the same time, she admitted she’d do it all again.

“It was a bit thrilling (too),” she added. “It seems like life’s a little too short to stay safe.”

And Ms. Barr is doing it again, though she hasn’t had to take cover this time around. The Niki Barr Band, whose members share a Glen Burnie home, is currently finishing up a three-week tour for Armed Forces Entertainment that’s taken her to Italy, Portugal, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands – to name a few stops.

It’s Ms. Barr’s 11th such tour for U.S. military personnel, said her manager, Mike Marucci of Annapolis. In the past four years alone, she’s been to three continents and 40 countries, he said.